Insights: Afghanistan joins the Madrid Protocol

Afghanistan joins the Madrid Protocol from 26 June 2018. In March the Afghan Government deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol, making it the 101st member of the Madrid System which will cover 117 countries. From 26 June 2018, local brand owners in Afghanistan can protect their trade marks elsewhere using the Madrid System. This also means that foreign applicants based outside of Afghanistan can, from the same date, protect their trade marks in Afghanistan through the Madrid System when they either file a new international application, or a subsequent designation to extend an existing registration. Details of the fees and individual requirements are yet to be published.

For further information please see Information Notice 5/2018 published on 25 April. This is a potentially cost effective solution for any trade mark owners that would like to protect their mark in Afghanistan using the benefits of the Madrid system. If you would like to discuss the possibility of designating Afghanistan in a new application or a subsequent designation via the Madrid system please speak to your usual advisor.

This article is featured in boult.bites TM Summer 2018 edition. Click here to view the full newsletter.